Texas Republicans pass Voter ID

In a late night vote, Texas Republicans overwhelmingly passed SB14 and in doing so expressed the will of the voters in convincing fashion. After hours of histrionics by Texas Democrats, the bill finally came up for a vote and passed 101-48.

As I’ve noted in the past, voters in Texas have supported a photo id bill for years at a 70% clip, so for all of the whining from the marginalized D’s, this really isn’t a controversial issue with anyone other than a few far left politicians, a political media that is more interested in controversy than fact, and a few middle aged white male bloggers filled with guilt because they were not born “of color”. The rest of us get it – voting is a right so important that we need to protect it.

So many people deserve credit for finally getting this passed. The Governor for making it a priority. The Lt. Governor for pushing it through the Senate post haste. Speaker Straus for picking the right person to carry it in the House. That person, Rep. Patricia Harless, for her tireless work and statesmanlike demeanor in the face of continued assaults on her own integrity. And obviously Catherine Engelbrecht and the King Street Patriots raised the issue to new heights with their True the Vote effort.

And let us not forget a few people who deserve a special thank you. The Texas Democratic Party sued the King Street Patriots and in doing so brought new media attention and outrage from thousands of Texas Tea Partiers, motivating them to lobby their representatives to vote for the bill. Thank you for your help.

And we cannot forget Fred Lewis and his ill fated Houston Votes effort. Without the problems in that group, then Tax Assessor Collector Leo Vasquez would not have had the opportunity to stand in front of the cameras and demolish any reasonable doubt that election integrity is a problem in Texas.

Lastly, a hearty thank you to those progressive bloggers that showed their complete disregard for the truth in their writing about Mr. Vasquez’s demolition. Their attacks upon him and Mrs. Engelbrecht were so nasty and vile that even a lazy press core in Harris County saw through them and finally broke their ability to drive a news cycle. For that we should all be grateful.